22 May 2008

Finally, the gaybashers can no longer wrap this turd in a flag and get people to salute it.

SEATTLE (AP) — The military cannot automatically discharge people because they're gay, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday in the case of a decorated flight nurse who sued the Air Force over her dismissal.

The three judges from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did not strike down the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. But they reinstated Maj. Margaret Witt's lawsuit, saying the Air Force must prove that her dismissal furthered the military's goals of troop readiness and unit cohesion.

(Frankly, I had no idea this case was even wending it's way through our judicial labyrinth. I firmly believe that the vacuum that is the Democratic primary is sucking the air away from about 90% of all the other stories going on in this country at any given time).

This ruling is simply a bombshell to DADT and its defenders. It robs the military of their central claim that TEH GAY is inherently damaging to the structure and well-being of the armed forces. Now, they have to prove it, case-by-case:

"The government now has to make a showing that it can't possibly make" -- that Witt's presence causes a problem in her unit -- given that those who worked with her in the military supplied her with glowing recommendations and outrage at her ouster, said James Lobsenz, part of her ACLU legal team.

Precisely the sort of test that should've been applied, all along. This incredibly damaging policy was founded on an alleged conventional wisdom that had no factual basis, whatsoever. Bigots like the freepers and their ilk will be sent into conniptions now that their broadbrush bullshit needs to meet a standard of proof. Definitely have to follow up and skim that particular cesspool for laughs a little later.